The Colway brand and equipment owned by County Durham-based C-Tyres have been bought by Polish retread company, Mark Gum.

In ceremonies yesterday, Kumho Tire Co. formally signed an agreement to build a $225 million tire manufacturing facility on a 127-acre site in Sofkee Industrial Park in Macon, Ga.

Groupe Michelin will be the OE tire supplier for Toyota Camry sedans produced at Toyota’s new plant near St. Petersburg, Russia.

Following Bridgestone/Firestone’s recent decision to increase prices in North America, Deutsche Bank analysts have observed that high raw material prices are allowing the leading players to indirectly influence market prices.

Asia Pulse reported today that Kumho Tire Co. has signed an investment contract to build a new passenger/light truck tire plant near Macon, Ga.

According to a report printed in French newspaper Les Echos, Michelin will gradually increase its share in Serbia’s Tigar Tyres from 64% to 94%.

Continental AG plans to invest some $37 million to expand production at its plant in Slovakia.

Bridgestone/Firestone North American Tire is boosting prices on its Bridgestone, Firestone and associate brand lines by up to 8%.

Hankook Tire claims it was, in terms of sales, the world’s fastest growing tyre manufacturer in 2007.

MAZDASPEED Motorsports Development used the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) Winter Test to unveil their 2008 colors, reflecting the addition of two new partners. BP and Yokohama Tire Corporation have joined the B-K Motorsports Lola B07/46-Mazda MZR-R LMP2 team with multi-year partnerships.

Bridgestone Corp. plans to expand its retail presence in China even as it announced a round of prices increases in that country.

Double Coin Holdings Co. plans to open a new truck tyre factory in the final quarter of 2008.

Nokian Tyres introduced the Hakkapeliitta Truck E a new tyre for trucks and buses, designed for the most demanding winter conditions.

Tyrexpo Asia 2009, ECI International, have distributed more than 10,000 thousand brochures about the seventh staging of the popular tyre and equipment show.

Goodyear launched a new initiative to completely eliminate shipping its tire plant waste to landfills.

Bridgestone/Firestone North American Tire has launched a new super wide on/off highway radial. The Bridgestone L315, according to BFNAT, was “engineered for long mileage, superior traction and outstanding flotation.”

Russia’s AK&M Information Agency reports that investment in the second stage of the Nokian Tyres facility in Vsevolozhsk, Russia, will this year be increased by 66 million euros.

The Valencia race circuit in Spain played host to Bridgestone's medium compound Potenza for ten of Formula One's eleven teams for the second test of 2008 on January 22-24.

Nokian Tyres offers the widest range of winter tyre sizes on the market: 44 sizes ranging from 14” to 20”. The Nokian Hakkapeliitta R will be available in tyre outlets in the autumn of 2008. The key market areas for the tyre are the Nordic countries and Russia.

Pirelli’s tyre range for this year’s FIA World Rally Championship has been completed with the addition of two new winter tyres.

The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company today announced that its European Union business unit is planning to reduce tire production at its two factories in Amiens, France, because their costs are not competitive.

Retail sales of Nokian Hakkapeliitta R SUV tyres will begin in the Nordic countries, Russia and other major market regions of Nokian Tyres in the spring of 2008.

TireTrader, the innovative e-commerce suite offering developed by Signal Extraprise Corp. that simplifies ordering, streamlines the distribution network, reduces costs, and provides competitive advantage, processed over $113 million in sales during 2007.

BFGoodrich has launched its new Activan range of van tyres that have been specifically designed to cope with the arduous operating conditions faced by tyres fitted to these vehicles.

Bloomberg has reported that Yokohama Rubber Co. has sued China's Hangzhou Zhongee Rubber Co., accusing it of copying a patented tread design.

Hankook Tire reports positive sales and operating income results for 2007. The tyremaker has recorded sales of 2.253 trillion won (£1.2 billion), an increase of 9.2% on its 2006 results.

Dunlop India is reported to be seeking fresh OE deals. According to the Times of India, the Ruia Group has entered into talks with India’s largest commercial vehicle maker, Tata Motors, regarding a truck tyre deal.

Bridgestone Corp. has announced that its subsidiary in Thailand, Thai Bridgestone Co. Ltd., will boost capacity at its Nong Khae passenger car tyre facility.

New EU regulations could lead to “type approval” of tyre specifications on CO2 emissions, effectively pushing out economy options that perform lower than the premium brands in this respect.

Analysts from the Societe Generale report that Michelin representatives have, during a Roadshow event, expressed the opinion that OE manufacturers would be prepared to spend extra for environmentally friendly “green tyres.”

Specialty chemicals group Lanxess AG intends to invest 50 million euros in relocating production of rubber chemicals from Thane, in the Indian state of Maharastra, to Jhagadia, in Gujarat.

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. has been penalized a proposed $52,000 in fines by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration for five safety violations discovered during an inspection of the company’s manufacturing facility.

Tire Rack testing showed that Goodyear’s new Eagle F1 Asymmetric bested three competitive tires in the tire and wheel seller’s “max performance” category.

Pirelli Tyre is bringing back a familiar name, and putting 100 million euros behind it.

Sales of summer passenger car tyres throughout Europe in 2007 are said to have increased by 3% over 2006 figures, which in turn were a 2.5% increase over those recorded in 2005.

Pirelli SpA remains serious about buying back the 39% stake in its global tire operations it sold off to a group of banks in 2006.

Yokohama Rubber Co. has signed a lease deal with Spain’s IDIADA Automotive Technology SA that will give the tiremaker access to IDIADA’s new test track.

The Jerez race circuit in Spain was the location for Bridgestone Motorsport to begin its three-year tenure as Official Tyre Supplier to the FIA Formula One World Championship as nine of Formula One's eleven teams attended the first test of 2008 on January 14-16.

Production capacity at Michelin’s Victoria Floresti factory in Romania will reportedly double over a two-year period to eight million units.

Apollo officials said they have been evaluating various options for a European manufacturing hub to service the European and North American markets.

General Motors Corp. is planning to produce biofuel from garbage at a cost of less than a dollar a gallon.

Specialty chemicals group Lanxess has developed a new high-performance rubber additive.

There are five Chinese car manufacturers exhibiting at the Detroit auto show – five times as many as at last year's event – and they have plans to sell their products in the U.S. market.

Hankook Tire Co. signed a deal to supply OE tires for the new Volkswagen Tiguan SUV.

At Auto Expo 2008 in New Delhi, India, Onkar S. Kanwar, chairman and managing director of Apollo Tyres, unveiled the company’s first winter tyres – Acelere Ice and Hawkz Ice – meant for passenger vehicles and 4x4s, making Apollo the first Indian tyre company to manufacture winter tires.

Michelin has announced the 2009 theme for its global vehicle design competition, Michelin Challenge Design, asking entrants to explore the future of transportation and share their brave and bold vision for “America's Next Iconic Vehicle.”

Bridgestone/Firestone North American Tire, in cooperation with General Motors, has designed a Dueler concept tire for the Hummer HX concept sport utility truck, introduced by GM at the 2008 North American International Auto Show.

The ‘full house’ signs went up at Tyrexpo Africa ’08 this week as organizers of the international tyre and equipment show found room for a clutch of final exhibitors for the March 4-6 event in Johannesburg’s Sandton Convention Centre.

Marangoni has announced major sponsorship deals with Santa Pod Raceway at Autosport International 2008.

The Ninth Auto Expo in New Delhi was selected as the venue for the January 10 launch of the world’s cheapest car, India’s Tata Nano.

The partnership established in 2000 between Continental Tyre Group and Uniroyal Truck Tyres UK, granting exclusive rights to distribute Uniroyal brand truck tyres throughout the UK & Ireland, has been extended for a further five years.

The businessman behind plans for a tyre recycling facility in the Barrow docks area is hoping to begin set up work on the project by February despite a last-minute environmental hurdle.

Pneumatics Components Ltd. has pledged support for campaign group TyreSafe as part of its drive to promote tyre safety amongst consumers.

Toyo Tire U.S.A. Corp. has rolled out two new sizes for its Proxes R888 R-compound tire to fit the Lotus Exige and Elise.

The organizers of the new GT Cup racing series have chosen Dunlop Motorsport as the sole tyre supplier to the inaugural series.

Kumho Tire U.S.A. Inc. will ship some 400,000 tires to Chrysler LLC as part of its first major original equipment contract in North America. The company made the announcement at the Kumho Dealer Meeting in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico.

The Waste Protocols Project is a joint Environment Agency and WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme) initiative funded by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), Business Resource Efficiency and Waste (BREW) Programme.

According to a filing lodged with the Securities and Exchange Commission in the US on January 8, the share in Goodyear Tire & Rubber held by New York-based hedge fund TPG-Axon Capital Management LP now stands at 5.5%.

Lionax, the first Chinese company listed on the Euronext pan-European stock exchange, announced on Jan. 7 that it has reached a “key milestone” in its quest to develop the industry's leading next generation Digital Pressure Sensor (DPS), a critical component in TPMS systems in terms of both function and cost.

Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., announced that it has concluded a product placement agreement for the latest Hollywood film by the Wachowski brothers - Speed Racer, scheduled for release in major international markets in May and in Japan in July.

Continental AG is looking to boost its India operations and broaden the range of products it offers to customers in the region following its recent buyout of Siemens’ VDO unit.

Bridgestone-brand Dueler H/L 400 tires are original equipment for Toyota’s all-new, next-generation Highlander SUV.

Automechanika Thailand, the leading international trade fair for the automotive parts, components and aftermarket industry in Thailand, is scheduled for March 6–9, 2008 at the IMPACT Exhibition and Convention Centre, Bangkok.

On Jan. 8 Toyo Tire & Rubber issued its findings from an internal investigation into the company's urethane-based heat-resistant building construction material business, and announced an action plan to ensure future compliance with all laws, regulations, company policies and rules.

Cooper has been named the official tire of the Professional Bull Riders Inc.'s 2009 Ford Built Tough Series.

Hanover, November 2007. The Design Center Stuttgart has bestowed one of its most prestigious awards to the ContiSportContact 3. The jury was won over by the combination of high-tech and safety features, and excellent design. After being whittled down to 62 finalists from a total of 206 entrants, the sports tyre finally received the silver medal.

Apollo Tyres has announced it is planning to double commercial vehicle (CV) tyre production capacity at its Vadodara plant.

TPMS-maker Advantage PressurePro and Inovex Industries, manufacturer of Ride-On Tire Sealant, have joined forces to co-market their products.

When Tyres & Accessories recently attended Continental's annual media briefing, we expected to hear details of the previous year's market statistics and product trends.

Enkei International has partnered with Discount Tire to offer the Enkei FD-05, named the official wheel of the Formula Drift series.

Currently nine of the world's 10 largest tyre manufacturers have their own production bases in China.

The NTDA has called on small business car users to take a more responsible attitude to tyre maintenance after results of a survey issued this week showed that over 70% of vehicles in this sector were running on cars with tyre problems.

Continental Tire North America is raising prices on all of its branded and private brand passenger and light truck/SUV tires up to an average of 7%, effective Apr. 1.

Bridgestone/Firestone North American Tire is making a significant financial investment in its Bloomington, Ill., Off Road Tire plant that will allow the plant to produce new off road tire sizes and double the facility’s giant loader tire curing capacity.

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. has informed its dealers that it is raising prices on all of its passenger and light truck/SUV tires by up to 7%.

The Bridgestone Winter Driving School, located in Steamboat Springs, Colo., is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year.

“It was fantastic to see optimism returning to the agricultural tyre market in 2007. Despite all the problems that farmers faced last year, the better wheat and milk prices seem to have steadied the ship,” comments Barry Coleman, Firestone’s marketing manager.

Hercules Tire International president Joe Recchia has announced that the Canada-based company will use its Tyrexpo Africa exhibit to introduce three new SUV lines.

Goodyear has taken its TireLogic truck industry customer magazine to the digital world.

Fast-rising raw material, energy and transportation costs have pushed Michelin to announce price hikes in North America and Japan.

Goodyear has licensed its name to appear on a series of NCC-produced GPS navigation systems.

The 2008 Subaru Impreza WRX STI sold in North America will sport Dunlop SP Sport 600 radials.

According to the daily Napi Gazdaság, Germany’s car parts maker Continental AG will build a testing grounds for electronic braking systems (EBS) and their components in Hungary, near city Veszprém, through an investment of billions of forints.

Yokohama A13C tires are standard equipment on the new 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, introduced during the recent Greater Los Angeles Auto Show.

Transport Canada, the Automobile Protection Agency (APA) and the Rubber Association of Canada co-created a video series to demonstrate how winter tires improve winter driving safety.

Continental Tire opened its 100th dealership in China in mid-December.

Those buying OTR tyres in the Middle East are likely to encounter further price hikes of 20% to 30%.

ASA Tire Systems has released version 7.5.0 of its TireMaster software.

As Pirelli begins its role as single supplier WRC for the next three years, beginning with the 2008 season, the Italian manufacturer has announced the following rule changes the FIA has made affecting tyres.